The Return
by Pestilax
Summary: The legacy of Soren and his deeds live on, even in the years after his death. His daughter, and current ruler of the tree, Queen Blythe, watches over the owls of the kingdom in relative peace, and harmony. This peace, however, threatens to be shattered, as a dragon owl and his daughter retreat to the great tree, bringing startling news of an old enemy that has been pursuing them...
1. Chapter 1: An Ailing Prince

Chapter One

 **An Ailing Prince**

The red beams of the early morning sun showed through a window, into one of many hollows of the Ga'Hoole tree. Inside, the blue-feathered figure of a large snowy owl loomed over a book, carefully reading it. Silence was the only thing to echo throughout the hollow, save for the occasional rasp of a paper page being flipped over by a talon or wing, and the sound of waves from the sea hitting against the rocks outside, far below.

Most owls would be dead asleep by this time, but this peculiar owl was wide awake, and remained reading, page after page, book after book, without any pause. As he finished leafing through another chapter, he noticed the small shape of a young, female snowy owl, of a natural white-and-black coloration, approaching him, her talons clicking against the wooden ground as she walked. He didn't seem bothered by it.

"Da," the owlet, most likely in her first year since hatching, spoke to the blue owl. He blinked, and looked up, as if coming out of a trance, before his bright, yellow eyes came upon the smaller shape before him.

"What is it, Skia?" he asked, in his usual light, but emotionless voice, as he turned back to his book.

"There's a big, scary-looking owl at the door, Da," she replied. "He said he wants to see you. He says he's from the king and queen."

The owl immediately looked back to the owlet with a surprised look. When his face regained its previous stern composure, he placed a decorated, red ribbon, acting as a bookmark, into the tome he had been reading and closed it with a clap before hopping from his perch, his talons scraping against the floor from the impact as he landed.

"Hmph," he huffed, as he fluffed out his turquoise feathers. "I assume he's here to tell us that they demanded that we leave. As I expected..."

"Why do the owls here hate us so much, Da?" she asked, as she saw him walk up to the entrance of their hollow, a glum expression painted on her face.

"Because they're afraid of us. They think we're hagsfiend," he started to answer, before reciting from lore and knowledge that the books had bestowed upon him, about a certain, previous inhabitant. "There was an owl, a blue snowy owl, like me, that once came to the tree, but he was evil and was known as the Striga. He tried to take control of the mind of their king, a brave owl that went by the name of Coryn, but failed and was ousted from here. He must be what gave them all a fearful feeling about me."

Once he reached the hollow's closed, wooden door, he pulled gently on its handle until it was only slightly ajar. Sticking his head outside the crack of his door, he spotted a large, brown shape in front of it, almost right off. He opened it fully and soon realized it was a great horned owl, which stared at him in its permanent grimace that its facial feather formation gave it.

"What in Glaux's name do you want?" the blue owl asked, in an impatient, if not rude tone of voice. The owl curled his beak up into a sneer before he replied.

"Queen Blythe and King Ferris have asked for your presence, dragon owl," he began, growling the last part of the sentence. "By their decree and theirs alone, you are to follow me to their hollow at once. It is of paramount importance."

Without so much as waiting for a reply, the great horned owl spun around and took flight, his large wings making a gust of win that blew into the blue owl's face, annoying him slightly. The blue owl bounded into the morning air as well, quickly gaining up to the other until he was just behind him.

"Wait for me!" Skia shouted from below, as she, somewhat clumsily, jumped into the air, taking flight before joining up with them after a few wing beats. The one whom she spoke to looked over his shoulder briefly, before looking forward once more, letting out a small chuckle at the young owl's persistence to follow him.

It was only a minute of flying before they reached the hollow. As they landed, the dragon owl could see two, white shapes standing in front of its entrance, waiting to see who was arriving. Without a doubt, the dragon owl knew it was Queen Blythe and King Ferris; the pair of barn owls that ruled the tree, the former of which was a direct descendant of their last ruler, King Soren.

"Here he is, your majesties," the guardian spoke, bowing to the two.

"Thank you, Brune. You may leave now," Ferris spoke back to him.

"Of course," he obeyed, immediately turning around and flying off of the ledge, but not before giving the blue owl a dirty look. As he flew away, all three owls could hear and see Skia landing next to him, and looked to her. She stared back with an innocent look in her large, yellow eyes.

"Balthazar," Blythe, queen of the great tree, greeted in a cold, unwelcoming tone, as she refocused her attention back to the blue owl.

"Queen Blythe. King Ferris. You both summoned me here," the blue owl replied, answering to the name, as his wings folded behind his back. "I presume you have both finally decided to exile me from your tree for the rather trivial crime of tending to my own, and bothering nobody?"

"No," Ferris spoke, in a low voice, partially surprising him.

"Oh?" he said. "Then why have you called me here? It's late."

"It's our son," Blythe went on, quietly. "We think... we think he may be... _dying_ from something. We've both heard of your expertise in healing, and ask for your assistance."

The dragon owl, at first wearing a look of shock and disbelief, gave an understanding look, and nodded his head. Ferris motioned to the hollow, and they all soon entered it, the royal pair leading them to the young tyto's room.

"So... the prince of the great tree of Ga'Hoole is sick, is he?" Balthazar inquired, in a voice reeking of sarcasm, after a moment of silence. "You haven't asked the ryb of the healing arts, by any chance?"

"We've asked every healer in the tree, but none of them know what ails him, or if there is a cure. All they can agree on is that they think it is a problem with his gizzard," Blythe spoke, in a much graver tone, as they approached a door, with a yellow light shining through its cracks. "We've tried every medicine and herb that we thought would have an effect, but every hour he grows weaker, and even now he struggles to breath. You're... the last one we can turn to."

Balthazar lifted his head in a somewhat proud strut at how they phrased it, but he returned to his serious composure when he heard the creaking sound of the door being opened. Looking inside the room, he and Skia could see a a large nest near the center of it, and inside of it rested a small, prone shape of a young owl, on his back. Looking closer, they could see he was laying on a pile of old down and feathers, and breathing rapidly, whilst his wings and talons twitched and fidgeted constantly and without pause. In the corner was a lit candle.

"Blythe? Ferris? Is that you?" a blind snake nest maid asked from where the nest was, poking her small, blackish head up from the multiple branches and feathers, revealing her.

"It is, Mrs. Glamis," Blythe replied.

"I'll have you know, I put some extra down for him to sleep on," the snake said again, in her aged, gentle-sounding voice, as she turned, and looked back to the ill owlet in the nest. "He is... he is still the same, though."

"Thank you, Mrs. Glamis. That will be all, for now," Ferris said. "You may leave, if you wish. The dragon owl will take things from here."

"I'll leave you all to it, then," Mrs. Glamis said, politely, as she slithered from the nest, past the owls, and out of the door. Skia took a particularly startled step back as she saw the long, black shape crawl past her, having never seen a live snake of any kind up close before.

Once she had left, Balthazar walked forward, up to the young tyto. When he was right next to him he lifted his leg up, and poked a talon at the base of his forehead. After sensing nothing, he slowly brought it down to where his stomach was, until it was right over the tyto's gizzard. Ferris and Blythe looked with sharp eyes as they watched him work, ready to act if he were to try anything.

"Hmm... it _is_ his gizzard," he started, retracting the talon, and turning to face the parents. "An unnatural infection, caused by a deformity from birth. I've only seen a few cases in my life. It's a rather unique condition that starts when-"

"What comes from it? Will he be okay?" Blythe interrupted, much to the dragon owl's annoyance.

"It is fatal," he revealed, getting a shocked, but still stern reaction from the two barn owls, as seen on their heart-shaped faces. "Luckily, for you, I'm the only owl in all the Southern Kingdoms that can cure it. And I have just the remedy in my possession."

"And what, pray tell, is this "remedy?"" Ferris asked. "Nachtmagen? You use that on him, and I'll... I'll..."

"I do not use nachtmagen," he responded, calmly, raising a wing to settle him down. "My methods are whole and natural. Dark magic is... a thing of the past."

Walking past the two adult owls, he soon left the inside of the hollow and went outside of it, until he reached the edge of its balcony.

"I shall be back with the cure in but a moment," he said as he stretched his large wings out, looking over his shoulder to them. With a leap, the snowy owl flew through the air at a fast speed, down toward his own home.

* * *

Balthazar soon returned, a yellow, hollowed-out, liquid-filled gourd in his black beak, freshly plucked from one of his storage cupboards. When he landed he quickly walked past the king, queen, and Skia, and toward the room where the sick owl was.

"What is that? What's in there?" Blythe asked, once they all reached the nest, and Balthazar had pulled the cork off of the object with his talon.

"This... this is the essence of an herb that grows only in the Middle Kingdom, mixed with fresh rainwater," he stated, as he lifted the gourd up, and shook it, letting the liquid inside jiggle about. ""Shen's weed," as us owls from there call it. It's not widespread, and is hard to get, but it _will_ save your son."

Both of the barn owls looked at each other, and slowly nodded in uneasy agreement.

"Do what you have to do," Blythe finally said. Balthazar instantly set to work, turning back to the owlet and approaching his side.

"Look at me," the blue owl spoke, in a low voice, arching his head over the nest. The smaller owl, hearing him, looked up and strained to open his eyes, spying the blue shape staring down from above him.

"Wh-wh-who are y-you?" the young tyto asked, his tortured and weak voice showing just how much pain he was undoubtedly feeling.

"That's not important," Balthazar replied. "Just look at me, and open your beak."

Doing as he said, the owlet did so, and opened his quivering mouth. Balthazar instantly set off to pouring the clear liquid into his maw, tapping on the gourd's tip to make sure every last drop went in. As soon as it touched his tongue, the owlet began to make a choking noise, induced by his condition, and the liquid started to leak from his nostrils. Balthazar, throwing the now-empty gourd away, had to use his talons to keep the beak shut, forcing the drink down.

"Shh... shh..." he hushed, in a manner of gentleness only a parent could give, as Blythe and Ferris jumped forward, unsure of what was happening. It was a few, nervous moments later that the young owl's breathing began to gradually slow, and turn normal, while his fidgeting stopped altogether. It was obvious to every bird in the room that he was now fast asleep, and no longer wracked by pain. His parents took in deep breaths of relief as they saw Balthazar remove his talons.

"We should leave him for a few minutes," Balthazar immediately spoke, staring back at the two. "It will take a little while for the herb to fully take effect. I'll tell you what will happen next outside."

"As you say..." Blythe said, her mate also in agreement with her, as seen by the similar look on his face. As they left, heading for the hollow's entrance, Balthazar had begun to talk about how long it would take him to fully recover, but unbeknownst to the owls, a certain owlet had stayed behind.

Skia, instead of leaving, took the quiet moment of being alone to hop over to where the other, prone owlet was, and peered into the nest at him. She noticed right off that he was around her age, if not just a week-or-two older. His flight feathers had grown in, but his size was still small, around her own. Curious, she raised her wing, and pushed, slightly, on his shoulder, to see what would happen. Skia let loose a mischievous grin when the young barn owl's little, black eyes opened groggily, and looked at her; her white shape slowly coming into focus.

They both simply stared at each other for a solid minute before she spoke. "Hi. What's your name?" she greeted, asking in a curious manner. The owl's black eyes looked up to the ceiling before he answered.

"Ce-Cedrick," he spoke, weakly. "Wh-who are you, exactly?"

"Skia," she said, before smirking again. "I think my father just saved your life, Cedrick."

As she spoke, her feathers began, without warning, to change in color and length, and her body, much to Cedrick's startled astonishment, began to morph in shape until what was previously a small snowy owl, was now a young barn owl, complete with pitch-black eyes, heart-shaped face, and covered in white and light brown feathers, just like him, if not mimicking his appearance exactly. Another round of staring commenced, until Cedrick decided to speak his mind.

"How... how did you do that?!" he stuttered, utterly amazed, despite how poor he felt.

"My Da says that I'm a... "changeling,"" she replied, looking away quickly, before returning her field of view back to him. "I can turn into any bird I want, as long as it has a gizzard. Neat, huh?"

"That sounds... _really_ neat..." he murmured, but in a friendly way, before another thought came to mind. "Do you have any brothers o-or sisters?"

"No," she spoke. "Just my Da. He said my mother died just before I could hatch, so it's just me and him. We travel around the Southern Kingdoms together, healing owls in need, like you, or finding books and scrolls of knowledge to read."

"I h-have two sisters," Cedrick began, thinking of his siblings that weren't present. "My oldest sister is named May, and my slightly younger, but still-older-than-me sister is named Marella, a-after our great-grandmother."

"What are they like?" Skia asked.

"Well, Marella is nice enough, and acts a lot like Mum, but May can be a _little_ bossy, at times..." he answered, snickering slightly.

They both let laughs escape their mouths, which quickly filled up the small room, until Cedrick was thrown into a small coughing fit.

"Um... I'm sorry I bothered you. I should... let you rest now," Skia said, as she slowly went back into her snowy owl form, any of the brown feathers she had turning bright white, or black, and her height increasing, as her eyes turned yellow once more. "My Da said you need a lot of sleep before you get better."

"Oh. O-okay..." Cedrick spoke, in a depressed way. "Goodbye, Skia."

"Bye, Cedrick. It was nice talking with you," Skia said in return. She watched as he nestled down on his back and closed his eyes, before she decided to make her leave. Walking back to the small hollow's doorway, and gently opening it, she slipped out of the room, and closed it again behind herself, making no noise in the process. Just when it appeared as though the owlet was in the clear, a familiar voice spoke up from behind her.

"Skia," the owl in question suddenly heard. She spun around, and saw Balthazar standing right behind her, causing her to let out a startled squeak.

"Hi, Da..." she spoke, nervously.

"You must go back to the hollow, and get to bed, daughter," he began, apparently unknowing, ignorant, or uncaring of where she had been. "We're packing and leaving when night falls."

"Wait, what? Why do we have to leave? Did the king and queen say we had to?" Skia asked, deeply surprised.

"No," he responded, bluntly. "The other owls here do not fully trust us, and I don't think it is wise to stay here any longer."

"Do we have to...?" she complained, in a long, trailing voice.

"Yes," he said. "Now go back to the hollow, and get some sleep. I'll wake you when it's time to go."

"Okay..." Skia finally sighed, sorrowfully, after a few moments, and lowering her head. As Balthazar turned around and walked toward the exit of the hollow, she trudged behind him. As soon as they were out, she, after making a quick glance at the king and queen, fluttered her wings and took to the air, headed for her own hollow. Ferris and Blythe looked at Balthazar, their expressions much gentler and welcoming than before.

"For saving our son's life, Balthazar," Ferris began, "we are both in your de-"

"Spare me, "my king,"" Balthazar interrupted. "My daughter and I are leaving. Tonight."

"Well... why?" he asked, confused.

"Because I fear we will not be welcome here, no matter what we do," he responded. "I do not wish for my daughter to be in an environment such as this, and for that, I'm afraid we must depart from here."

"You saved my son's life, and by Glaux, for that we are both eternally grateful," Blythe spoke up, when she saw him walk pas them both. "Just know that if you ever need a place to roost, or a sanctuary from the outside, you're always welcome here."

"I'll keep it in mind," Balthazar said, halfheartedly. With those final words, the blue snowy owl stretched his long wings out, and flapped away, joining his daughter in the flight to their hollow, as the two barn owls could only watch.


	2. Chapter 2: The Seasons that Follow

Chapter Two

 **The Seasons that Follow**

The setting sun's warm, red glow remained washing over the sleeping form of Renly; a young White-Faced Owl. His plumage was typical with most of his kind; that being greyish-brown with white, and looked fluffed out to comfort himself more as he snored through the day. Truth be told, he liked to leave his hollow around the middle of the day, and just sit outside of it so that he could feel the comforting rays of sunlight and hear the lullaby of the sea's waves lapping over each other.

His red eyes slowly shifted open into slits as a faint sound, like that of wingbeats, came from behind. Yawning, he blinked twice and turned his head to look over the rest of the Great Tree and the newly-awakened owls flying about, when a startling noise went out.

"GOTCHA!" The sound of Cedrick's voice was as a sharp clap of thunder to poor Renly. He let out a squawk and let his feathers flare inward, which made him appear smaller; wilfing in panic as he spun about on his branch, only barely avoiding falling off of it in the process.

"Racdrops, Cedrick!" Renly yelled, once he had regained his balance and saw who had done the deed, of course. The Barn Owl, churring a loud owl laugh, knew he had angered his friend as he watched the feathers on his white face curl and thin until they had transformed into a dirty glare. "Don't do that! I thought you were a scroom!"

"Ah, you're so easily excitable, Renly," Cedrick continued to laugh, landing beside him with a crunching of bark beneath his talons. After his brownish-reddish wings settled behind his back, he looked back to Renly, seeing that his expression had mollified.

"Eh... Time to get to our chaws?" he asked easily, blinking as he looked up to the stars.

"Yes," Cedrick concurred. "Being in a chaw feels much more important than being in a chawlet, wouldn't you say?"

"Mm-hmm," he nodded, before deciding to inquire something to his friend. "How are you liking your tutelage in colliering?" Cedrick though for a moment.

"I think it's going pretty good, so far. Last time we talked about thermal drafts, and I found it very interesting."

"I like being in the navigation chaw myself," Renly nodded, before coming to the grim realization that the sun had almost completely vanished beneath the horizon. "We'd better get to them before we become late like _last_ time, huh?

"Yeah, you're right. When your duty's done, I'll meet you by the library, alright?" he spoke.

"Okay," the White-Faced Owl agreed. "See you soon, Cedrick." They both flew from the branch and soared in their respective directions with the skill they had been taught throughout most of their lives before the night could fully descend and leave them late for their chaws. As Cedrick flew, he watched the many owls who were also awake leave from their hollows and tend to their own matters.

It had been a great many moons since he healed from his sickness as but a branching owlet, and he was growing into a strong, but still very young Tyto Alba. He passed all of his ceremonies, from yarping his first pellet to devouring his first meat-and-bones prey, and was now training to be a Guardian, like his parents and grandfather before him. He was tapped for the colliering and weather interpretation chaws, and because of that fact he felt an innate sense of pride in carrying on what his grandfather, Soren, had done many years before he was even laid as an egg.

As he silently flapped his wings, he also remembered the aching thoughts nibbling on the back of his skull like a mouse with a piece of wheat. It was the reason he wanted to visit the library later, but for now, he locked the thought away in his mind and prepared for the near future. Colliering required one's full focus, after all...

* * *

"Why? Why, why, why don't I deserve to have that book?" Cooke the Magpie asked for what seemed like the eightieth time that night to Otulissa. The elderly, gaunt Spotted Owl and Ga'Hoolology ryb of the Great Tree shook her one-eyed head and began to respond once more.

"Because only _owls_ need to know about _owl_ nest care. Magpies have no reason to inquire what problems we have with proper tending of our abodes," she spoke in her aged voice, which Cooke noted had both a venerable, and an ancient air to it. "And considering your record, I have full reason to believe that you won't return it."

"But I deserve to know! I _deserve_ to! I'm very trustworthy!" The way the black-and-white bird so cockily phrased it made Otulissa chuckle at his stubborn, arrogantly-placed sureness in the lie he had been insisting to every resident he met since he arrived at Ga'Hoole. He came here only two days prior with his bunch of companion magpies and the wares they carried for sale. She turned about and began to head into the library, leaving the bird muttering to himself.

"Leave here and go back to your group, Cooke," she said again. "You might think you're cunning, but I know that you are not. Now go, before I call over someone."

"I don't think that there's a need for that, Otulissa." The familiar voice prompted Otulissa to peek her head over her wing, and the shape of the young prince, whom she knew so well, befell her sight. Landing next to him as well was the form of his best friend, Renly.

"Ah, Cedrick. What a pleasant surprise that you should stop by here," she greeted him jovially, fully turning about to face him. "And to what do I owe this pleasure, precisely?"

"I just wanted to stop by and give my greetings to my favorite ryb in the tree," he started. "And, maybe, to help clear up the little mess I see is going on."

"You can start by shooing the cause away," Otulissa stated, pointing a haggard wing at Cooke.

"Please, allow me," Renly whispered into Cedrick's ear. He turned to Cooke and began to speak to the slightly smaller bird.

"Cooke, you know that cloth-drape you still have for sale, right?" he asked. "The bright purple one with the golden trim?"

It took a moment for Cooke to let the image of the item come to his memory. "Ohhh... you want it, do you?" the magpie asked in an interested tone. "Lucky for you, no one else has shown any care for it yet."

"May I look it over? I never got _too_ good of a look at it," the owl went on.

"Sure thing, my friend," he remarked. After Renly shot a wink at Otulissa, the two stretched their wings out and took flight into the air, leaving just Cedrick and Otulissa by themselves in blissful silence.

"Hmmf. That magpie is something else," the Spotted Owl grunted in a disdainful tone, noting her distaste for the obnoxious trader. She started to head back into the library and was immediately followed by Cedrick, who walked after her hobbling form at a fast pace.

"Otulissa, I would like to ask you something," he bluntly said.

"Mmm?" she stopped and looked at him. "And what would that be?"

"I was... actually wondering if I could know more about King Coryn. And... maybe the Pure Ones, too," he said in a hesitant voice, watching as she began her trek again and following his teacher deeper into the library.

The Spotted Owl's brow curled and she shook her head in understanding. "Coryn and the Pure Ones?" she repeated. "Oh, good Glaux... You seem to be more interested in those subjects as of late, aren't you?"

"Well... Coryn _is_ my cousin," the young Tyto began. "And I hear nothing but good things from him whenever someone tells me about what he did. When I asked Mum to tell me about what he was like, she said that I might get better information from you."

"And what of the Pure Ones? Why are you so keen to hear about them? And don't try to tell me it's because he was associated with them."

"I just want to know about them because he was once one before, but ended up helping to put an end to their horrible deeds," Cedrick replied. Otulissa sighed.

"Are you sure it's not the rumors going around about what's happening in the Forest of Tyto?" she asked next, puffing her chest out and ruffling her dull brown feathers with a deep breath.

"Well... it might also have something to do with that..." he responded slowly, finding the gallgrot to speak his mind fully and without embarrassment.

Otulissa pulled a book from a shelf she was passing, checked to make sure it was where it belonged, and pushed it back in. "Yes, well... whatever theories you're hearing about the goings-on there is not what you're thinking, young'un. It's all poppycock stirred up by traders and imaginative troublemakers who have run out of wet poop jokes to tell their friends."

"I saw a Fish Owl from Tyto come to the tree the other day for business," Cedrick spoke. "Word has it that before he left, he mentioned that he noticed some neighboring Lesser Sooties and Grass Owls went missing from their nests, as well as a respected Barn Owl he knew closely. When my parents caught wind of his words it worried them greatly. That doesn't sound like poppycock to me, and the feeling in my gizzard is telling me the same."

Otulissa thought of what to say next as they arrived at the section of the library she was leading her student to. She let out a tuneful hum while scanning over the book titles, reciting an old owl ditty she learned in her youth. "Cedrick, have I ever told you about that time I went yeep when I first saw Coryn?" she asked.

"Um... yes," he nodded. "But you never told me why."

She chuckled back, before going quiet. "That's because I mistook him for his mother, Nyra. From what you must have heard, your parents thought you were old enough to know who _she_ was and what she did, correct?"

He looked his black eyes away briefly, before looking back. "My mum told me she was a monster. A complete and utter monster. Once, she told me that she was a... _hagsfiend_."

"She was the model 'Pure One'," Otulissa went on, rubbing a talon over the eyepatch that adorned where her left eye once was, before refocusing on her duty.

"How so?" the prince questioned.

"The Pure Ones valued rage, might, and brutality above all else," Otulissa began to answer, after finding and taking a book down from the shelf. "From what I managed to collect, they equated it with what we see in courage and honor. They had many heinous practices they used to strengthen that belief, such as hunting down and maiming or killing any owls they found that weren't Tytos. Their very initiation ceremony was an atrocity. You see, one had to... kill a relative or friend to become a full-fledged, elite Pure One."

Cedrick reeled back in disgust. "That's yoicks. That's horrible!"

"And that's one of many reasons why they ultimately fell," Otulissa smirked, before plopping the book in front of him like a rectangular stone. Cedrick looked over the title, and then back to his mentor.

"This has what I'm looking for?"

"It talks about what happened during the war. It has the most information on both King Coryn and the Pure Ones out of all the other books in the library," Otulissa confirmed. "As long as you finished your chaw duties, you may read it if you would like."

"You have my gratitude," the young owl thanked.

"You're welcome, Cedrick," she said in a happy tone. Leaving him with the tome, she turned about and walked to another part of the library, allowing him to read it over in peace.

As her talons rapped over the ground, she thought deeply about the most talked-about of the current events. The occasional travelers to the tree had stated that lone, to entire families of Tytos were disappearing overnight in their home forest, as well as a sparse few reports in the neighboring kingdoms. It was as if each was moving themselves someplace else. It did unsettle her a tad, but a rumor was still a rumor, and only time itself would tell how grave the situation truly was. Shrugging to herself, she continued on with her duties.


End file.
